1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer-enabled log recording system and method, and particularly to a system and method for logging events to manage network devices and configure the network devices by analyzing the events.
2. Related Art
With the rapid development and widespread application of electronic communications networks, more and more people are employing networks for business services and information exchange. The safe and smooth operation of a typical network relies on the provision of different services by various web servers. The services include browsing of web pages, transmission of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) files, discussion of news, and dynamic configurations of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
Driven by demand for the above-mentioned applications, networks are being developed in almost every corner of the globe. Effectively managing and configuring various devices connected on these networks is becoming an increasingly important and demanding task for network managers. To effectively manage and configure the various devices, the network managers often have to know the exact operation statuses of the devices. Conventionally, the operation statuses are reflected by events that occur in the devices. Therefore, obtaining and analyzing the events of each device can greatly help the managers to efficiently manage the device. For example, China Patent Publication No. CN1317745A discloses an apparatus and method for storing log data in a communication network, in which the log data are stored in a single-time writable medium such as a compact disk-recorder (CD-R), or a digital versatile disk-recorder (DVD-R). In such a system, an unauthorized user cannot change or delete the log data. Such an apparatus and method may, in some systems, efficiently prevent the original log data from being altered.
Although the above-mentioned system provides a security solution to protect log data, it does not provide managers with useful information to manage and configure the network devices. Therefore, a system and method is needed for obtaining log events from various devices on networks, and for providing the log events to managers according to practical requirements.